


SHIELD's Little Surprise - Part 3 - Testing, Testing

by SHIELDAgentMD



Series: SHIELD's Little Surprise [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Comfort, Corporal Punishment, Discipline, Familial Roles, Fanfiction, Gen, Spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-27 04:52:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5034445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SHIELDAgentMD/pseuds/SHIELDAgentMD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Without any real understanding of why she's doing what she's doing, an insecure little Skye begins to test the grown-ups around her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	SHIELD's Little Surprise - Part 3 - Testing, Testing

**Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.**

**SHIELD’s Little Surprise**

**Part 3 - Testing, Testing**

 

This is the third chapter in a series of stories that takes place not long after the Season 2 finale.  These stories are meant to be fun, sweet, thought-provoking and heart-warming.  They *may* or may not contain scenes of corporal discipline (spanking), possibly of a minor child.  This is *not* a ‘condonement’ of spanking children in any way, and any such scene will be depicted in a very loving, non-abusive manner.  If this may still be a trigger for you, I encourage you not to read this series.

This is a fanfic based upon the incredible television series, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  Every character referred to is directly from the show/Marvel Universe, and I hold NO claim to the characters or the plotlines of the show that many of my stories are based on.  I *highly* recommend watching the first two seasons of episodes before reading these stories, as many references to events in the episodes will be made, and therefore, better understood.  **WARNING:  These stories will contain spoilers from the show, up until the Season 2 finale.**   (Minus what happened to Jemma Simmons there, because I refused to accept that!  ;)  )  Enjoy!

**……………….**

**Part 3 – Testing, Testing**

 

The next several weeks pass by in a blur for the SHIELD team and their newest, littlest member.  Skye is becoming more and more firmly embedded in all of their hearts as she gets to spend quality time with each of them in turn.  They have all learned that the little girl is sweet, affectionate, very smart, eager to please and dangerously curious.  She wants to follow everyone around, all the time, and wants to learn whatever they are doing.  She often understands and even memorizes things after being shown how to do them just once.

Every agent has already developed a special pet name for Skye.  In return, Skye has already decided on roles for all of the SHIELD agents around her… at least, their roles pertaining to her: 

Jemma is, without a doubt, ‘the kind one’.  She is the one Skye wants to run to when scared or upset, or in need of affection.  Simmons’ soft voice and gentle touch, even her pretty accent are all very soothing to the child.  Jemma almost never raises her voice, almost never tells the little girl ‘no’, and is always immensely patient.  Skye adores her, and adores being her ‘darling’.

Bobbi has to be Skye’s next favorite, the one she deems, ‘the fun one’.  Bobbi is quick to play games with the child, run around with her, tickle her, and encourage make-believe play.  Morse is only stern when she needs to be, and even then is as gentle with the girl as possible.  Skye loves being called ‘munchkin’ by the tall, capable agent. 

Mack is ‘the goofy one’.  Skye loves to play physically with him: pouncing on him, ‘wrestling’, being tossed in the air and spun around in his strong, safe arms.  He never raises his voice with her either, or scolds her in any way, and always refers to the youngster as ‘princess’.  He is always playful but careful, and any shred of intimidation she had initially felt due to his height and strength has completely vanished.

Skye considers Fitz to be ‘the teacher’.  He makes learning incredibly fun, providing hands-on opportunities to learn at every given chance.  Under his tutelage she is excelling at basic math, without even realizing that she is learning.  And of course, he is introducing Skye to her beloved world of computers, teaching her basic coding along with playing games with her.  He affectionately calls her, ‘lil one’.

Hunter is ‘the funny one’.  He tells really funny jokes and stories to the little girl.  Skye even finds his accent funny, especially when he calls her, ‘cutie’.  He isn’t afraid of getting ‘girly’ with her too, sitting down to a tea party and pouring with his pinky stuck out.

Agent May is ‘the storyteller’.  She smiles less than the others and almost never laughs, but she is still very kind to Skye.  As Skye is spending every evening/bedtime with May, the little girl has come to associate her with bedtime stories and Chinese folklore, as well as cuddles and comfort.  May is also exceptionally patient with the youngster, fondly putting up with her seemingly incessant chatter, and silently accepting her presence whenever she shows up to see what May is doing.  This often includes watching May do Tai Chi, watching her train (from *outside* the glass doors), and keeping her company in the cockpit when May is flying the Bus.  Skye is May’s little ‘bǎo bèi’. 

There is something about May too, something that Skye doesn’t understand.  The child knows that she has never met May before, but there is definitely something… familiar… about her, that she simply can’t explain.  Many of the agents have noticed times that Skye would stare into May’s eyes, as if trying to see into her soul… or trying to remember some long-forgotten connection.

Then, there is Coulson.  Skye has so far spent the least amount of time with Coulson… not because he wills it so, but simply because he is the director of SHIELD, and therefore constantly busy.  The limited time they do occasionally spend together is typically passed doing puzzles, looking at maps and teaching the little one how to play checkers.  Thus, to Skye, Coulson is still simply, ‘the Director’.   He is very kind, and smiles often at Skye, his little ‘sweetie’.  The youngster has remarked how everyone treats him with the utmost respect, and that any order from him is answered only with, ‘yes, sir’.  The first time that Skye says this to Coulson, when he asks her if Trip likes their home base, is cause for great amusement for the entire team. 

Thus, everyone has their role in Skye’s life, and she is better understanding this new life she is living.  Skye’s lessons have also begun, with much success.  Everyone proves to be very engaging and creative educators, understanding early on that the energetic little girl won’t learn well being stuck in a desk. 

Therefore, Jemma is conducting her science lessons with Skye in the lab, putting dozens of different materials under a microscope for the youngster to look at, then to identify on a paper.  Simmons happily helps the curious child label each picture, and hangs them around the Bus for everyone to see.  Skye is very proud of her work as a ‘scientist’.  As a treat, if Skye is well-behaved, the last 5 minutes of the lesson is spent laying underneath the galaxy again, learning more about stars and planets and constellations.  The little girl is developing a love for science that her grown-up counterpart hadn’t necessarily shared.

Skye’s second lesson of the day is math, with Fitz.  Leo uses natural learning opportunities all over the plane to teach basic arithmetic.  They count the seats in the hangar, vials in the lab and bunks on the plane.  He brings several different small treats into the dining room and they work on basic addition and subtraction, Skye ‘winning’ the number of items whenever she gets the answer right.  He also teaches her different shapes, and sets her little scavenger hunts to find corresponding items around the Bus.  Skye *loves* learning math with Fitz.

Computer science is, of course, one of Skye’s favorite lessons as well.  To start, Fitz is basically just teaching her some simple kids’ games, to work on her hand-eye coordination and basic keyboard commands.  He starts focusing on reading, word and spelling games as well, when Skye begins lessons in those subjects.

Next up is geography with Coulson.  Here Skye learns about different features of the Earth such as mountains, forests, lakes, deserts, rivers and oceans.  After she learns a new term and can identify it, Coulson projects images of different landscapes into mid-air and challenges Skye to touch all those of a certain kind.  They make it into a game, seeing how fast she can do it and expanding the array of choices, and giving her ‘points’ every time she gets them all right.  Once she accrues enough points she gets to play a similar game on her small computer for a few minutes, to reinforce the lesson.

After geography comes reading and writing, which are covered by Bobbi.  The original schooling schedule was altered just slightly so that writing is worked on before lunch, and reading is conducted just after lunch, when Skye is calming down a bit and getting ready for a nap.  Writing is proving to be a tough task for the youngster for some reason, so Bobbi keeps her work simple, consisting of tracing letters and numbers next to a picture of something it represents.  It’s more fun than usual though, as Bobbi often lets Skye ‘write’ on the holotable, where she then gets to see her uncoordinated writing projected in 3D.  Finally, Skye traces the words that Bobbi writes down, indicating what is for lunch that day.  That part is particularly exciting for the little girl, who always looks forward to lunch with Jemma, Fitz, Bobbi, Mack and Hunter.

After lunch comes reading.  This works out nicely, as at this point, Bobbi is simply curling up with the little girl in their new rocking chair in May’s room, and reading some of Skye’s new children’s stories with her.  She reads quite animatedly, and helps Skye sound out words as they read.  After about 15 minutes of reading, Skye’s little body will start to droop, and Bobbi carries her over to the bed.  Morse then sings her the ‘ABC’s’, while rubbing her back to help her off to sleep.

Approximately an hour and a half later, Skye wakes up from her nap.  The following half-hour is dedicated to ascending to the roof of the base with Mack, where they play outside with a ball, or play tag, or any other physical game to help the youngster wake up.  So long as the weather is good, Mack often continues with his lesson on the roof, giving Skye a basic introduction to engineering by guiding her in building with blocks or Legos or erector sets. 

Skye’s last lessons of the day are with May.  May is teaching Skye Chinese in collaboration with the other team members… when Fitz and Bobbi are working on numbers with Skye, May teaches the little girl how to count to 20 in Mandarin.  When Skye learns new vocabulary about the Earth’s features, May teaches her the Chinese equivalents.  (It greatly amuses the other teachers when Skye informs them the next day of the Chinese words for what they are studying.)  A few minutes at the end of this portion of the lesson is dedicated to teaching Skye a few Kanji characters.  May has a Zen board that Skye can write on with water, then watch her writing disappear as it dries.  This is fascinating to the youngster, and ensures that she willingly practices the character several times after May gives her an example.

In terms of philosophy, May spends the last 15 minutes of her allotted teaching time guiding Skye in beginning breathing exercises, meditation, yoga or Tai Chi.  She speaks briefly of the universal energy that flows through all things.  These exercises help to calm the child’s energy a bit before dinner, while also instilling some self-control and discipline.  The somewhat antsy child struggles occasionally with these exercises, though she enjoys them at the same time.

As no one really refers to Skye’s lessons as ‘school’, the little girl hardly recognizes that the play she is engaging in, and the instruction she is receiving is education.  Skye is happy, engaged and as curious as ever throughout her day, and the team members are thrilled with the whole program.

After about a month in their care however, a gnawing, unpleasant feeling starts making its way into Skye’s stomach, like nerves or ‘butterflies’.  Anytime she has found herself in a new situation in her short life, even one that she liked, eventually it all came to an end.  She would apparently do something wrong, the family would decide they didn’t want her anymore, and she’d be sent back to the orphanage.  Even at only 6 years-old, she is now starting to wait for that other shoe to drop.

Without really knowing what she is doing, Skye is slowly starting to test the grown-ups around her.  Her first signs of rebellion manifest under May’s supervision one night.  Skye doesn’t cuddle up in bed with May when it is time, which is quite unlike the youngster, who loves bedtime stories.  Instead she tries, unsuccessfully, to stay up.  Her uncooperative nature when Agent May is trying to dress her for bed earns her a warning:  “Skye, it’s bedtime.  If you are not in your pajama’s by the time I count to three, there will be no bedtime story tonight.  One… two…”  Skye considers this a serious threat and finally stops squirming, allowing May to help her change.  Even that threat doesn’t put a stop to the child’s unruly behavior though.  Finally, after several ignored prompts to get into bed, May wordlessly scoops up the girl and carries her there, planting one good swat on her bottom.  This proves effective at last, as Skye finally settles down.  She isn’t her usual inquisitive self while reading either, but lays close to May quietly, pouting a bit.

Lunchtime the next day finds Skye testing again.  Jemma made sandwiches with a side of fruits and raw veggies.  She had set a plate of cookies out on the counter as well, for dessert.  Skye asks for a cookie right away, but is told that she needs to eat her lunch first.  The little girl eats her cheese sandwich happily enough, along with a few grapes, then tries again.  Morse glances down at the little girl’s plate and shakes her head.  “Nope, you need to eat some of your veggies, first.”

Skye whines a bit and kicks her feet against the legs of the stool she is sitting on.  Morse frowns, but chooses to ignore this.  After another minute Skye grudgingly eats one baby carrot.  “Now can I have a cookie?”

Simmons, who has been trying not to be such a pushover, (though she finds it difficult when it comes to Skye), approaches.  She pushes half of the veggies on Skye’s plate, which includes one more baby carrot and two small pieces of celery, to the side.  “There you go,” she states softly, with her usual warm smile.  “If you eat those, you can have a cookie.”

Skye scowls, especially when Mack walks wordlessly by, shows her his empty plate, and helps himself to a cookie.  “Nooo, I don’t want them,” Skye whines, pushing her plate away.  The little girl didn’t meant to push quite so hard… and even she has a momentary look of surprise when the plastic plate slides off the counter and falls to the floor.

Bobbi frowns deeply and lifts Skye off her stool.  “You’re going to clean that up, young lady,” she states sternly, plopping Skye down next to the fallen veggies.

But Skye, feeling an anger and frustration that really has nothing to do with having to eat vegetables, feels her little temper break.  She quickly grabs up a carrot and throws it with all her might across the dining room.  “No!”

Jemma gasps quietly, having never seen Skye behave like this before.  Even Mack, Fitz and Hunter stop in their tracks, staring at the tantrum taking place.  Mack looks quite comical, with his cookie frozen halfway to his mouth.

Morse gives Skye an incredulous look, turns her slightly and plants a light warning swat on her bottom.  “Skye, this is your last warning.  Either you clean this up nicely, or you’re going to get a spanking.  Which is it going to be?”

But the stubborn youngster tries to pull away from the stern-looking agent, who is holding her firmly, though carefully by the arm.  When this doesn’t work, Skye stomps her foot, then kicks at the fallen plate.  This is the final straw.

With a sad sigh, Bobbi says, “not a good choice, young lady.  I’m so sad that you chose this.”  With that, she scoops up the youngster and carries her over to a chair.  Both Hunter and Fitz take this moment to scurry out of the dining room.

“Nooo, nooo… Jemma!” Skye shrieks, squirming and reaching out for ‘the kind one’.  Simmons presses her hands to her mouth, fighting hard against the instinct to go ‘rescue’ the little girl.  Morse sets Skye down and unbuttons her jeans, pulling them down to the child’s knees. 

When Skye cries out for her once again, Jemma swallows hard and her eyes fill with tears.  Mack had been about to escape too, but when he sees the tears in Jemma’s eyes, he goes to her instead, wrapping an arm around her.  “Come on,” he whispers, guiding her out of the dining room too.

Morse steels herself for what she knows she must do, and lays the struggling little girl across her knees.  “Skye, it is okay to feel upset, but it is not okay to throw things.  And when one of us tells you to do something, young lady, you do it.”

Feeling that that is all the scolding that she can dish out, Bobbi raises her hand and lets it fall onto the small upturned bottom over her lap.

… Having just exited the dining room, Mack and Jemma hear that first swat, and Skye’s cry that follows.  Unable to bear it, Simmons lets out a sympathetic sob and feels a tear slide down her own cheek.  Mack hurries her along, out of hearing range. …

Skye squirms and kicks her feet at the second swat, causing her jeans to slide right off.  When a third firm swat lands across her bottom, she begins to cry.  Though Bobbi is certainly not striking her hard, this lesson seems to be having an impact on the little girl.  The sound of Skye’s crying nearly breaks Bobbi’s heart.  She delivers two more light swats before pausing and asking softly, “are you ready to clean up now?”

Skye lets out another cry and nods, no longer squirming, but still kicking her little feet gently.

Morse is relieved to see the nod, but adds, “I want you to say, ‘yes ma’am,’” to both test Skye’s compliance, and instill some manners in the child.

Skye sniffles hard and repeats, “yes, ma’am,” in a quavering little voice.

Flushed with relief that she can end this chastisement, Morse smiles and helps the little girl up into her arms.  She hugs Skye close and kisses her tear-streaked cheeks.  “Good girl,” she praises warmly, happy when Skye puts her arms around her neck and lays her head on her shoulder.

After another minute, Bobbi carries her back over to the mess on the floor and sets her down.  “Okay munchkin.  Put the veggies back on that plate, then put it on the counter,” she instructs, pointing out each vegetable to make sure Skye doesn’t miss any.  The youngster obeys, tears still falling.

Once the unpleasant task is finished, Bobbi scoops Skye up again and hold her close.  She croons to her as she carries her back to the room the little girl shares with May.  Morse picks up ‘Trip’ from the bed and sits down in the rocking chair with Skye.  Skye curls up in a little ball in Bobbi’s lap, sniffling and clinging to her monkey.  Morse mops the little girl’s face up with a tissue and holds her close for several minutes.  Then, stroking her hair gently, Morse quietly asks, “you understand why you got in trouble, right, munchkin?”

With another great sniffle Skye nods… then remembers and adds, “yes, ma’am”.  Bobbi kisses the top of her head, pleased.

After another moment of snuggles, Bobbi asks softly, “why did you do that, baby?  Why were you so upset?”

In true 6 year-old fashion, Skye shrugs.  In truth, even she doesn’t understand what she is doing… that she is, in fact, testing Bobbi and the others around her.  Without her realizing it, this had been a pattern for Skye at her previous foster placements.  She would always eventually act up to see what would happen, and to speed up the inevitable before she got too attached.

Bobbi rocks the chair slowly, and begins patting Skye’s back.  She knows that the youngster is sad and worn out, and decides not to push her any further just now.  It isn’t long before Skye’s sniffles have quieted and her eyes have closed.  Soothed by the rocking and rhythmic patting, the little girl drifts off to sleep in no time.

**…………………**

Mack had whisked Jemma off to her lab, where he figures she feels most comfortable.  The young scientist is trying hard to pull herself together, rather embarrassed at her own reaction.  “I’m sorry,” she says sheepishly.  “I’m… I’m being silly.”

Mack smiles and gives her a little squeeze.  “No, no… well, yeah, okay.  Maybe you are,” he teases.  He looks at her carefully, then asks, “do you think that Skye shouldn’t be punished?”

Simmons sighs and thinks about this carefully for a moment.  “Well… I-I suppose I do,” she admits.  “She was being quite naughty.  I… I just…”

May enters the lab at that moment, and looks carefully at Jemma.  She had heard everything that had happened from her post in Command, which is right next to the dining room, and she understands what is really bothering the young woman.  “You wanted to go ‘save’ her, didn’t you?”

Simmons looks up at May’s question, unable to tell from her tone if she’s going to be sympathetic, or going to scold her.  Looking back down, she nods.

May nods too, knowingly.  “What a child wants is not always what they need.  As the people responsible for her, we have to differentiate between the two, and provide what is needed… whether it is pleasant or not.  By not stepping in when she cried out for you, you did the right thing.  I promise.”

Melinda sits next to Jemma and places a gentle hand on her leg, wanting the young woman to understand.  “It’s called ‘tough love’ for a reason.  It’s love… but it’s tough.  And not just on the person being punished.”

Simmons looks up at May suddenly, comprehension dawning across her face.  She thinks to herself, 'does it really hurt May like this, whenever she punishes me?'

May smiles softly and nods, in silent confirmation.  “It hurts every time.  Don’t forget it.  It may come down to you someday, to provide Skye with something similar.  Out of love.”  With that, May stands again, patting Jemma on the back, and walks out.

Simmons blinks at the idea and shakes her head fervently.  She can’t imagine ever striking the child.  She couldn’t possibly…

Mack smiles and squeezes Jemma’s shoulder.  “Feeling better?”

Simmons sniffles one last time and nods, returning the smile.  “Yes, thank you.  I’d… better get back to work.”  Jemma places her hand (which seems tiny in comparison) on Mack’s hand gratefully, and moves to continue her work on the 0-8-4.

**……………..**

The team gathers for a meeting during Skye’s nap.  Coulson wants to talk about how their schooling program was going, but Bobbi first shares the scene of Skye’s little tantrum with the director.

“Wow,” he responds, upon hearing that the youngster had actually thrown food across the room.  “Well, where did that come from?”

 “She was testing me,” Morse answers simply.  The rest of the team looks at her.  “What?  All kids do it, and she has more reason than most to try.  She needs to know what will happen if she acts up.”

 Hunter nods in agreement, knowing this all too well from having grown up with little sisters.  Both May and Fitz raise their eyebrows though, seemingly impressed, while Simmons chews on her lip.

 Coulson however looks hesitant as he asks, “and… what did happen?”

 “I made her clean it up and I gave her a spanking,” Morse replies matter-of-factly, though the way her eyes lower at the memory shows that it still pains her.

Coulson groans quietly.  He isn’t a big fan of corporal punishment, even if he can admit how effective it seems to be with certain members of the team.  But to hear that his tiny ‘sweetie’ had been punished in that way rather upsets him.  “Oh… really?  Must we?” he asks, quietly.

Simmons and Fitz both look like they want to agree with Coulson.

Bobbi blinks, and is considering her response when May speaks up.  “Yes… we must.”  Everyone turns to her.  With a heavy sigh, May continues.  “As much as we might like to believe otherwise, Skye is no ordinary child."

"You can say that again," Hunter mutters.

Ignoring this, May goes on.  "Who we are and what we do will almost undoubtedly force her to face danger someday.”  Simmons swallows hard at the thought.  “We have to be strict with her, Phil.  Her very life might be at stake someday, and in that instant it will not be a time to ‘test’ us.  We will need to trust that she will obey us, those who would die to protect her.”

It’s difficult to argue with this.  The look on Coulson’s face shows clearly that he still doesn’t like the idea, but he simply takes a deep breath before changing the subject.

“All right.  So, how are lessons going?”

Everyone goes around and happily shares what they are working on with Skye.  The general consensus is that she is very bright and eager to learn.  They brainstorm interesting lessons to collaborate on for a while, before Bobbi voices something peculiar she’s noticed.

“You know… I see that Skye is excelling at just about everything.  But she does seem to have a tough time with writing.  She looks positively awkward holding a pencil or the holopen, and her handwriting is… well, terrible.”

Most of the other team members haven’t had much experience writing with Skye, but May nods in agreement.  “I noticed that too, when Skye does Kanji characters on the Zen board.  She does look… awkward.”

“Look.”  Bobbi crosses the room and grabs a folder with some of Skye’s simple writing samples in it.  

Everyone gathers around for a peek, and they easily see what Morse is referring to.  The writing is quite sloppy and even slanted in an unusual direction. 

“Huh,” Coulson mutters.  “Any suggestions?”

Everyone remains quiet for a bit, then Mack shrugs.  “Maybe she just needs more practice.  We could all find opportunities to have her write more.

Everyone agrees to implement more writing into their lessons the following day, and the meeting changes pace.  “Simmons… tell us what you know so far about the 0-8-4.”

Jemma sits up straighter and nods.  “Yes, sir.  Well, we know without a doubt that it is Asgardian.  The gold coloring is, in fact, pure elemental gold… 24 karat to be exact.  And it is not only gold-plated; testing shows us that aside from a tiny core of some alien substance, the entire device is comprised only of gold.  There isn’t a single other metal or element, Earthly or otherwise, inside it.”

Hunter whistles quietly.  “Bet that’s worth a fortune,” he mutters.  Morse and Coulson both give him a look.  “What??  Old habits die hard, all right?”

Jemma shakes her head disapprovingly and goes on.  “As most of the gold on Earth was brought here by meteorites from space, it is rather impossible to date the age of the 0-8-4… even though as pure gold it is incredible soft, and therefore should be much more damaged than it appears… “

“Jemma?  Maybe skip to more important features?” Coulson prompts gently, with both a slight note of impatience along with amusement.

“Oh, um… yes, sir.  Well… as I said, it is Asgardian.  It also seems to react to biometrics… genetic markers… meaning that what happened to Skye may be unique only to her.  It may react completely differently, should anyone else come into contact with it with their bare skin.”

The entire team exchanges uncomfortable glances at this.  This is sounding horribly like the Diviners… which reacted ‘positively’ to Skye, but easily destroyed so many other people.

In answer to the unasked question, Jemma goes on.  “I am afraid that as of yet, there is no way to know or understand why the 0-8-4 caused Skye to regress as she has.  I do feel confident however, that without external manipulation or interference of some sort, the effects are, most likely… permanent.”

A heavy, palpable silence follows this.  One can only guess at what the others are thinking.

“Very well,” Coulson states.  “Keep us updated if you learn anything more.  Meeting adjourned.”

**…………………**

Skye awakens from her nap not long after this.  The youngster is a bit more clingy than usual the rest of the day, both to Trip whom she drags everywhere with her, and to Jemma, whom she seems to have forgiven for not stepping in to save her. 

The youngster’s lessons the next day are challenging.  In Skye’s first lesson, science with Jemma, the doctor puts away the microscopes and teaches Skye instead about the different states of matter.  She describes the characteristics of solids, liquids and gases, then projects several images of everyday items for Skye to identify.  The child understands right away, and is able to point to the solids and liquids easily when asked, though identifying gases takes a few tries. 

Simmons then gives Skye a worksheet with 10 pictures of different items.  Each item has a line underneath it, and Skye is asked to write the categorization of the item on that line.  Jemma writes the words on a whiteboard for Skye to reference.

At first, Skye tries to ignore the board and her pencil.  She points to each item in turn and proudly says which state of matter it is.  Simmons smiles and nods, but tries to redirect the youngster to writing down the words. 

“Very good, darling!  Now you just need to write it down on the line…”

Skye frowns at this and begins fidgeting.  “No… I don’t want to,” she replies simply, pushing the paper away.

Simmons looks at Skye carefully.  She doesn’t appreciate the youngster’s refusal to do a task she was set, but at this point she is more concerned than upset.  “You don’t want to?  How come?” she asks gently, replacing the paper in front of Skye.

Skye kicks her legs back and forth under her chair.  “Cause, I already sayed.  See…” She climbs up to sit on her knees and again tries to show Simmons.  “The rock, that’s solid.  The water is liquid…”

Simmons thinks quickly.  “Yes, darling, you’re doing a wonderful job!  And if you write them down, then I could show everyone… Director Coulson and May and Hunter, and everyone… just what a wonderful job you’re doing,” she comes up with.

The obstinate child frowns and pushes the paper away again, clearly doing some quick thinking of her own.  “That’s okay… I can tell them too,” she points out.  She often likes to share what she’s learned with all the agents during dinner anyway.

Simmons sighs, not wanting to argue with the little one.  She remembers that she’s not supposed to be being a pushover, and makes a decision.  She places the paper in front of Skye one more time, then leans down to be close to her.  “Darling… this is your science work for today.  I’m afraid that if you don’t get it done, we won’t be able to look at the galaxy before you go see Fitz.  That would be quite sad…”

Simmons is sure that this will motivate Skye to do her work, but she is underestimating six year-old stubbornness.  The little girl looks hurt for a moment, but then just pouts and lays her head on her arms on the table. 

Jemma blinks, then sighs, remembering what Bobbi had said about Skye testing everyone.  She hates to take away this special treat from the child, as she too always looks forward to sharing it with her.  She knows that she must though.  She has to follow through.

“All right, Skye.  You let me know if you change your mind,” she says sadly, and moves away to pretend to grade some of Skye’s previous work.

The hour comes to an end though, and Skye hasn’t touched her paper.  Wondering what the child’s hang-up about writing could possibly be, Simmons announces quietly, “ok Skye, it’s time to go see Fitz.”

Without looking at Jemma, the youngster slides off her chair and heads out.  Jemma hears a soft sniffle as the glass doors close behind her.

Fitz’ experience closely resembles Simmons’.  The engineering genius had also made up some worksheets, which have pictures showing simple equations, such as an image of three apples plus an image of two apples.  The blank line at the end is where Skye is supposed to write in the answer.

Growing increasingly frustrated, Skye tries refusing Fitz as well, and simply saying the answer out loud.  Fitz won’t accept this though.  After some struggle, the worksheet is finally completed when Fitz tells Skye he will help her do the writing, and ends up essentially writing the numbers for her with his hand around hers.

It seems that trying to get the little girl to write regularly was going to look much like this.  Coulson had left that morning on a recruiting trip to Sao Paolo, and Hunter is covering his lessons, doing art with Skye.  Whenever he had covered for Coulson before, Hunter had allowed the little girl to do finger painting, which she very much enjoys.  Today however, with the team’s focus on writing, he intends to require some more precise work from her.

He figures it will be easy and enjoyable for her though.  He has brought along an array of coloring books for her to choose from, including Hello Kitty, Curious George and Frozen themes.  He also has both crayons and colored pencils to offer her more choices.

When Skye comes into the rec room she looks happy and eager, and looks around for the paints.  When Hunter explains that she gets to color in the coloring books though, her face falls. 

“No… I wanna paint,” she states clearly, looking up at him a bit like he’s lost his mind. 

Hunter sighs inwardly.  “Well, sorry cutie.  No painting today.  We’ll paint again soon.  But today, you’re going to color for me.  Maybe you can color a picture for Jemma, or for May?” he suggests, knowing how much the little girl loves giving everyone ‘presents’.

Skye can’t believe her luck… what a lousy day she’s having.  In sheer frustration she pushes the coloring books away (though is careful not to let them fall to the floor), and once again lays her head in her arms on the table. 

Having grown up with three little sisters, Hunter recognizes and is not fazed by tantrums.  “Nope.  Taking a nap is not an option right now, Skye,” he states sternly.  “Unless you want a time-out, I suggest that you start doing what you’re supposed to be doing.”

Skye growls in frustration and chooses to ignore this warning.  Hunter has never punished her in any way… surely he wouldn’t…?  She remains at the table with her head down.

Hunter exhales heavily and shrugs.  “Okay, your choice.”  He looks around the room briefly, and determines that it is too full of furniture and other interesting items to be effective as a time-out space.  He scoops up the youngster and carries her out to the dim-lit hallway.  Skye squirms half-heartedly.

Hunter sets her down at a blank stretch of wall and prompts her to sit.  “All right, Skye.  If you won’t do as you’re told, then you’re going to sit in time-out.  Don’t move from that spot,” he says sternly, but patiently.  “I’ll come back when it’s time for you to try again.”

Hunter turns and crosses the hall, but before he can reenter the rec room he hears a gasp and a sob from behind him.  Stopping and turning back, he sees a highly distressed little girl standing in her designated spot and reaching out desperately for him.

“Noooo!” Skye squeals, tears starting to fall down her cheeks.  “No, don’t… come back!”

Hunter blinks and stares at Skye.  He knows from experience that the little one isn’t acting up… she is genuinely upset, maybe even afraid.

“Hey now,” he says softly.  “I’ll just be in the rec room cutie, you’re all right.”

“No!” Skye cries again, still reaching out for him, but not seeming to dare move from her spot.  “Don’t go!”

Hearing the commotion, May enters the hallway from Command.  She looks from Skye to Hunter and back again.  “Excuse me,” she says, in alarm.  “What is going on out here?”

Hunter moves to May and quietly fills her in about what’s been going on.  May looks at Skye and frowns, showing her disapproval. 

“Skye, when an agent tells you to do something, you do it,” she exclaims sternly.  “And that includes time-out.  Now, sit down.”

Still crying, Skye sits down again at once.  She knows already that May is not someone to test.

May nods at the child.  “I better not hear again that you are disobeying Hunter, young lady,” she adds.  When Skye buries her face in her hands, May nods at Hunter and they both step out of the hall and out of sight.

After a minute of quiet crying, Skye looks back up to find herself all alone.  A desperate panic overwhelms her and she lays face down on the ground and kicks and hits the floor, crying loudly again.

Agent Morse happened to be approaching the hallway from around the corner, and she jumps at the sudden noise.  “What on Earth??”

She, May and Hunter all appear in the hallway at the same time.  Bobbi gives Hunter a questioning look.  He holds up a hand as if to say, “I’ve got this,” and steps over to the little girl who is seemingly in full tantrum mode. 

“Skye,” he begins, putting a gentle hand on her back to try to quiet her down.  “This is not how a time-out works.  Your time is going to start over until you sit nice and quiet, and you’re ready to work.”

Morse and May watch as Skye quiets down a little.  Having just come from talking with Fitz-Simmons, Agent May has some idea of how Skye’s morning has been going, and is disturbed to be seeing the bad behavior herself.

Trying to remain in control, Hunter says firmly, “you need to sit up Skye, and you need to keep quiet until your time-out is over.  Otherwise, I’m going to start your time over again.” 

Skye slowly sits up again, sniffling hard and wiping her eyes.  Hoping that the child is ready to comply, Hunter pats her softly on the back and stands again.  “You can show me that you’re all done being naughty by sitting nicely,” he adds, stepping away.

But once again, the six year-old is feeling an anger and hurt that she doesn’t understand.  Every time Hunter walks away from her she feels abandoned, and the large, dim, empty hallway feels like a huge void between her and everyone else.  She feels scared and alone and that he is trying to get rid of her.  These feelings lead her to make some poor choices.

With another angry sob Skye suddenly stands and moves to Hunter.  Not even sure what she’s saying, she shouts, “no, I’n not naughty!  *You’re* being naughty!  Stop it!”  And with that she gives Hunter a frustrated hit on the arm.

Hunter looks stunned.  Still yelling through her tears, little Skye hits his arm again, but before he can react May has stepped in and snatched the child up. 

“Skye, you stop this right now,” she says sternly, giving the little girl's bottom a firm swat. 

Skye kicks her feet and squirms in May’s arms as the agent walks her right back to her appointed time-out spot and sets her back down.  The little girl considers trying to run away, and takes one hopeful step in Bobbi’s direction before May puts her back in place and swats her once again. 

The upset six year-old finally ceases struggling and just stares into May’s eyes through her tears.  She rubs her bottom pitifully before May sits her down again. 

Agent May kneels beside the little girl, trying to maintain her patience.  “Now Skye… you listen to me.  You are in time-out.  That means you do not move and you do not speak.  You sit here quietly and you think about why you are in trouble,” she explains quietly, gently wiping tears off the child’s cheeks.  Melinda looks up at Hunter.  “How long is she in time-out for?”

Hunter runs a hand through his hair.  “Five minutes.”

May nods.  “After you sit nicely and quietly for five minutes, then Hunter will give you another chance.  You will do as you’re told, bǎo bèi, or you will get a spanking.”

Skye whines and rubs her eyes with her tiny fists, making all the adults melt a bit. 

May gently lifts Skye’s chin with one finger.  “Do you understand, Skye?”

The little girl hiccoughs, then slowly nods.  She then glances at all of the grown-ups in turn and says through a shaky voice, “but… stay wif me, okay?” 

Morse, Hunter and May can hear a desperate plea in that request, and begin to understand what’s going on in the little girl’s mind.  Before they can respond, Skye scoots forward just slightly, keeping her eyes trained carefully on May’s, and attempts to crawl into her lap.

Melinda’s heart breaks, and she wants nothing more than to accept the little waif for some comfort, but she stays strong. 

“Bǎo bèi…” May begins quietly.  “Hunter will stay nearby, but only you can do your time-out.”  Though it pains her, she lifts Skye off her lap and sits her back by the wall.  As she does so, she whispers, “after art, you will have a break today.  You can spend some time with me and Bobbi, okay?”

Another tear slides down the youngster’s cheek, but she nods and sinks into her designated spot.

“Good girl,” May whispers, and strokes Skye’s cheek.  “Behave… and I’ll see you soon.”

May stands and moves away, stepping next to Hunter.  She whispers subtly in his ear, “stay within her sight.”  Hunter nods.  May looks to Bobbi and nods down the hall.  Morse follows curiously.

Hunter pulls a chair into the hallway and sits across from Skye.  “Five minutes, cutie,” he reminds her with a slight smile, then turns away and sets a timer on his phone.

Hunter starts reviewing a recent memo sent out by Coulson, just to have something to do.  He avoids looking at Skye but occasionally hears small sniffles from the child.  After about three minutes has passed, he is desperately bored, and is probably as anxious as Skye is for the time-out to end. 

He cringes therefore when he hears her speak up.  “Hunter… guess what I learned wif Jemma today,” she says quietly, but excitedly. 

Lance glances back at the fidgeting child and cannot bring himself to start her time over.  He presses his finger to his lips with a quiet, “shhh”.  Skye pouts and lowers her head again miserably.

A very long two minutes later, the timer goes off and Hunter sighs with relief.  Skye’s head pops up hopefully.  “Ok, cutie.  What do you say?  Are you ready to come back in and behave?”

Skye still doesn’t want to color, but she desperately wants to get out of time-out.  Thus, she nods.

“Good.  Then get in here,” Hunter says playfully.  As Skye hops up and walks over to him, he scoops her up and hangs her upside down for a moment.  The child squirms and giggles, making Hunter feel the warm glow he usually feels when Skye is around and happy.

“All right, so… we only have a little bit of time left.  Who should we make a present for?” he asks.

Skye says the first person who comes to mind.  “May.”

Hunter grins.  Only this youngster could be swatted by someone one moment, then ‘forgive’ them quickly enough to want to give them a present the next.  “Agent May… okay.  Pick a picture.”

Skye chooses a page from the Hello Kitty coloring book and hesitantly gets to work.  Her coloring is not very neat or precise, but she tries her best. 

Hunter makes sure to praise her work often, commenting when she does manage to stay in the lines.  He enjoys this much calmer atmosphere, and happily chats with Skye.  “You know… I’m surprised you didn’t pick ‘Frozen’.  There’s pictures of the princesses… and Olaf.  You like Olaf, right?”

Skye perks a bit at the mention of princesses, but then shrugs.  “I don’t know Olaf.”

Hunter blinks and then realizes.  Well duh… every other 6 year-old in the world may be obsessed with Frozen right now, but what would Skye know of it?  She’s missed the last 20 years of movies.  “Oh, you haven’t seen ‘Frozen’.  We’ll fix that.”

When her art time is up, Skye gives Hunter their customary high-five, and dashes out to find May and hand over her present.

Lance finds himself looking down at a table still strewn with crayons and colored pencils. He heaves a great sigh.  “Oh well… pick your battles,” he mutters, starting to clean up.

Skye runs into both Bobbi and May coming out of Command.  She immediately holds up her colored picture to May.  “Here!” she exclaims proudly.

Melinda blinks and accepts the picture.  “For me?”

Skye nods, leaning in to Bobbi for a hug.

“Oh, honey… this is beautiful.  Thank you.”  May smiles warmly at the youngster and kneels down for a hug.  “So, I guess you behaved for Hunter, huh?”

Skye nods but fidgets… she doesn’t want to talk about it anymore.

Bobbi and May exchange a look.  They had decided together that given Skye’s morning, it would be best to give the youngster a little break, especially from her next lesson, which is writing.  May sees no harm in giving the child one day off of it, in the hopes that she could perk up again.

Hunter exits the rec room and approaches them on his way to grab a water bottle from the dining room.  “A certain someone has never seen ‘Frozen’,” he mutters in a sing-song voice when inches away from the two agents.  “Thought you ought to know.”

“Oh…” Morse says softly, and looks hopefully at May.  Bobbi’s nieces are among those who are obsessed with the movie, and she is positive that Skye would enjoy it as well.

Agent May looks from Bobbi’s hopeful gaze to Skye’s quiet, dejected demeanor and sighs. “All right,” she caves, shaking her head.  “But I want popcorn.”

……………

“I can’t believe I’m watching a cartoon,” May mutters under her breath to Bobbi half an hour later.

Bobbi chuckles knowingly.  “Yeah, I know… but look at her!” she states, nodding toward Skye.

The little girl is sitting straight up on the floor, about 3 feet from the projection screen.  She has Trip in her lap, her head is tilted adorably to the side and her mouth is slightly open, completely enraptured by the movie.  May can’t help but grin, having never seen Skye sit still this long before.  The agent expertly tosses a piece of popcorn up in the air and catches it in her mouth.  She shakes her head and swallows before saying, for the 10th time, “Skye, scoot back.  You’re too close.”

Without looking around, Skye moves back about 3 inches.

Agent May throws her hands up, and looks at Bobbi.  “I’m starting to think that this movie actually casts a spell on kids.”

Morse nods.  “Yep.  The spell seems to affect every child on Earth under the age of 12 or so.”

May sighs resignedly and sets the popcorn aside, then goes and plucks Skye off the ground.

“Noo,” the little girl whines, thinking she’s being taken from the movie.  When May simply sits back on the couch and cuddles the child close to her, Skye smiles and settles back down immediately.

Jemma wanders into the rec room to find May and Morse seated on the couch, and Skye snuggled up in May’s lap.  She smiles softly at the sight, then recognizes what they’re watching.  “Ohhh, Frozen!” she squeals excitedly, stepping further into the room.  She goes and sits in the spot that was just vacated by Skye and tilts her head in the exact same way.

Morse bursts out laughing.  “Ok, maybe kids under the age of 30,” she amends under her breath.  “Jemma, seriously?  Move back, please.  Set a good example?” 

Simmons glances around to Skye.  “Oh… sorry…”

Bobbi smiles, sits up and moves to the end of the couch.  “Come here… there’s room for you too.”

Simmons grins and hops up, moving to the couch and helping herself to a handful of popcorn.

**……………..**

After the film ends everyone gathers for lunch, during which Skye chatters nonstop about the movie.  That is, she chatters until she falls asleep right at the table, next to her empty bowl of soup.  With a subtle but fond smile, May takes her off to her nap.

**……………….**

During Skye’s lesson with May that afternoon, the agent keeps a close watch on the little girl.  She decides to play a simple game with the child, practicing counting in Mandarin while tossing a ball back and forth.  She notices right away that Skye always tosses the ball with her left hand.  When they move on to writing on the Zen board however, Skye writes with her right, in the same sloppy handwriting that Bobbi had shown everyone.

Placing a gentle hand on the little girl’s back, May says, “Bǎo bèi… let me see you write it with your other hand.”

Skye stops mid-character and looks up at May, alarmed.  “No, I… I can’t,” the child says quietly.

Melinda blinks.  “Why not?”

Skye fidgets slightly, almost as if wondering if May is testing her.  The youngster stares at her for awhile, seemingly too nervous to respond.

“What is it, bǎo bèi?  You can tell me… why not?”

Skye gulps.  “Because… the nuns sayed not to.  That it’s bad.”

May blinks yet again.  “That it’s bad?  What… to write with your left hand?”

Skye squirms even more and nods, quite seriously.

“Well… I… that’s complete nonsense,” May states, scoffing.  May had heard of this medieval concept, especially in Asia, but was flabbergasted to hear of it in this day and age.  Some religious nonsense about the word ‘left’ translating to ‘sinister’ in several languages, and being thought of as one’s ‘evil side’. 

“Skye, honey… there is absolutely nothing bad about writing with your left hand.  If that is what comes naturally to you, then that is perfectly okay.  Just like you have brown eyes, and Fitz has blue.  Every variation, every difference that makes us who we are, is beautiful.”

With that, May smiles and gives Skye a little tickle.  “Now… let me see what you can do with your left hand, bǎo bèi.”

Skye giggles at the tickle, then hesitantly switches the brush to her left hand.  The little girl glances up at May several times before touching the brush to the board.  Just as May suspected, Skye looks much more comfortable, and her strokes of water on the board are much smoother and more accurate.  The experienced agent grins proudly and nods her head.  “Beautiful, honey.  That’s exactly right.  Now… I want you to start writing with that hand, all right?”

Skye meets her eyes and looks deep into them, as she often does.  After a moment she nods.  “Okay.”

“Good girl,” May praises, and proceeds to teach Skye the character for ‘girl’.  She is rather impressed with herself for solving this puzzle so quickly, and immediately informs everyone else of the revelation at dinner that night.  Basking in the praise of that, Skye takes the opportunity to request watching ‘Frozen’ again… for the first of many, many, many times.

**………………**

“Ohhh, Jemma, you are creating a monster!” Bobbi teases as she walks into the rec room on Saturday morning to hear ‘Frozen’ playing yet again.

Simmons grins sheepishly. “Well, yes, maybe a bit, but… Bobbi, perfect timing.  Check this out!”  She puts her finger to her lips, then points to Skye.

The little girl, who is sitting far too close to the projection again, squirms in delight as the song ‘Let it Go’ begins.  A moment later, she is singing right along, as naturally as if she had created the song herself.

Morse’s jaw drops slightly.  The child’s voice is pure, rich and angelic, and she is perfectly in tune.  Simmons looks round to catch Bobbi’s stunned expression and grins, nodding.  Unseen by the youngster she mouths, ‘see??  She’s amazing!’

Bobbi responds by mouthing back, ‘who knew??’

Morse hears footsteps coming down the hall behind her and peers out.  She spots Mack and Fitz coming her way and waves them over.  Soon enough, they too are listening to the unbelievable sing-along, and exchanging astonished looks.

Simmons hops up off the couch and joins the little group.  “I’m so sorry I’m letting her watch this again and again, but she has memorized every single song from the soundtrack and… it just amazes me every time.  I *want* to hear her sing!”

The other three agents nod slowly, as if under a spell.  They can completely understand now.

The next day Fitz gifts Skye with a small mp3 player with the Frozen soundtrack on it, and soon everyone on the Bus knows about the little girl's talent.  Skye wears it nonstop during her free time, and sings along, quite uninhibitedly. 

"Skye lived with us for two years... how did we not know she could sing?" Jemma asks curiously, as she and Fitz are cleaning up after breakfast.

"I don't know," he replies.  I guess she never sang in front of us.  I heard her hum along with some music before, but not sing..."

On the next Wednesday morning, when Skye requests to watch the movie *yet again*, Coulson shakes his head and mutters to May, “okay, that’s it.  Skye needs to go outside and play.  How about we take her to a nearby park?  I can discuss geography with her out there.”

May nods in agreement, though the thought of Skye out in the mundane world makes her somewhat uneasy.  Still, the child can’t be kept cloistered her entire life, despite possible dangers.

“Sounds good,” she states, knowing that she and Coulson are more than capable of protecting Skye in any situation.  Coulson nods and arranges for them to go during his lesson time.

Thus, at 11:00, May comes to fetch the youngster outside Fitz’ class and informs her that they are going to the park.  Skye looks excited and eager as May helps her put a light jacket on.  The little girl is allowed to bring a few toys along, so she adds a few of her Heroes of New York action figures to the backpack May is bringing.

Skye slips her hands into Coulson and May’s as they exit the base and head for a park two blocks away.  Coulson starts out teaching the little girl about directions, showing her that the sun is rising in the East, and how to gauge directions from there.  As they enter the park however, Skye runs off toward the swings and Coulson grins, deciding to let it go for today.  It is a beautiful day, one of the last of summer. 

At Skye’s request for a push on the swings, both agents move forward, then stop and exchange a grin.  “You go,” May offers, knowing how Coulson’s time with the child is more limited than he’d like.

He smiles his thanks and walks over, pushing the youngster, much to her delight.  May takes a seat on a nearby bench to watch.  She soon regrets letting Coulson stay with Skye however, as another woman joins her on her bench.  This stranger lets her little boy head into the closest sandbox and sits near May, pushing a stroller back and forth.

May cringes inwardly as the woman seeks to strike up a conversation.  “Good morning,” the stranger says brightly.  “Is that your little girl over there?”

Melinda tries not to grit her teeth as she responds curtly, “yes”.  She marvels for a moment at the fact that this doesn’t feel like a lie.

The woman smiles and goes on, “well, she’s just beautiful.  How old is she?”

Stifling a huge sigh, May responds, “she recently turned six.”

“Really?  Wow… she’s small for her age, isn’t she?  She doesn’t look much bigger than my Nathan, and he’ll be five next week.”

Melinda turns and stares at Skye.  While she’s incredibly annoyed (of course Skye is small for her age, she’s half Chinese), she can’t help but wonder at this comment, even agree with it.  What if they were mistaken about Skye’s age?

May nods with a forced smile at the woman, then turns back to look at Skye, smiling softly as she hears the little girl’s sweet laughter.  Coulson is tickling her sides every time she swings back toward him.  She watches quietly as Coulson moves around to the front and holds his arms out.  Skye listens to him count down from three, then jumps off her swing into his arms.  The happy giggles that follow this makes May feel warm and peaceful, as always, but there’s now a new feeling as well… pride.

Coulson spins Skye around in his arms.  By the time he sets her down again, she’s very dizzy and stumbles back onto her rear end in the sand.  She giggles again at this, and allows Coulson to help her up.  As he gently dusts her off, May sees him whispering to the youngster.  Skye nods eagerly and comes running up to May.

“Did you see?” she asks excitedly.  “I jumped off the swing!”

May grins and nods.  “I did see, bǎo bèi.  You’re very brave,” she praises.

“Just like you,” Skye exclaims proudly.  Then, to everyone’s surprise, Skye climbs up on the bench in order to wrap her arms around May’s neck and plant a kiss on her cheek.

A bit stunned, and incredibly touched, May hesitates only a short moment before returning the embrace.  She feels something of a pain in her chest… like an old muscle suddenly being worked after years of non-use.  She hears the young woman sitting beside them say, “awww,” quietly.

Skye smiles angelically, then lets go of May and slides off the bench.  Before May has really ‘recovered’, the little girl asks, “can I have Thor and Nasasha?”

May stifles a grin.  “Natasha,” she corrects the child, and picks up her bag to dig within.  “And of course you may.”  She pulls out the two superheroes and hands them to Skye.  The youngster tries to run off with them, but is stopped by Coulson.

“What do you say?” he prompts gently, pointing to May.

Skye grins, happy that she knows the answer to this.  “Thank you!”

Coulson nods, beaming, and sends her on her way with a pat on her back.  “Good girl.  Stay close.”

Coulson approaches the bench and May scoots pointedly over, clearly indicating that he is to sit between her and the talkative mother.  He gets the hint and takes a seat in the middle, but the woman still leans forward to address May.

“My goodness… she certainly adores you, doesn’t she?”

May blinks, and can’t help the small smile that escapes at this, as she watches Skye join the woman’s little boy in the sandbox. 

… “Hi,” says Skye in a friendly tone, to the little boy.

“Hi,” he says back.  He turns and glances back at his mother speaking with two strangers.  “Is that your mommy and daddy?”

Skye glances over too and smiles.  “Yep!” she lies happily.  She sticks Thor and Romanov into the sand up to their knees, so they’ll stand up.  “Yeah, they’re the bestest!  My mommy is a doctor and my daddy is a teacher,” she states matter-of-factly, the lie coming easily as she had often imagined it about her unknown parents…

… The woman addresses Coulson now.  “Your daughter is so beautiful.  What’s her name?”

Coulson considers this for a moment, then decides there’s no harm in sharing that information.  “Skye.”

“Oh, that’s lovely!  Well, I’m Molly, over in the sandbox is my little Nathan, and this here is Olivia,” the woman rambles on, indicating the small bundle in the stroller. 

“Ah… hi,” Coulson says awkwardly, really having no idea what to say at this point.

He is saved by the bell at this point however, as the adults suddenly heard a little girl say in a raised voice, “no… he’s mine!  Give him back!”

May sighs softly and gets up, heading to the sandbox.  “Skye?  What’s going on?”

The little girl looks up at her guardian, then points angrily at the boy.  “He taked Thor from me!”

Ignoring the urge to correct Skye’s English, May frowns.  “Well, it’s not very nice to take things from other people,” she begins, with a pointed look at the small boy, “…but it’s also not nice not to share.  Maybe you two can play with Thor together,” she suggests, feeling ridiculous at even having this conversation…

… Meanwhile, Molly was saying to Coulson.  “Kids… you know, my Nathan struggles with sharing sometimes.  They’re starting to work with him on it in preschool though.  Where does Skye go to school?”…

… “No… I don’t want to,” Skye decides, snatching Thor back and getting up.  The young, stubborn child turns to leave the sandbox, kicking a fair amount of sand onto the boy in the process.

May’s eyes flash as she knows that that was done on purpose.  “Skye!” she scolds, following the little girl and scooping her up.  She swats Skye’s backside and says, “that was not okay.  Why did you do that?”

Skye whines and squirms, giving May a hurt look.  “He-he sayed I can’t play with Thor, cause I’m a girl!  That I can only play with girl dolls,” she explains, still in a huff.

May blinks, then sighs.  She can’t help but mutter, “well, bǎo bèi… he’s just a silly little boy who doesn’t know any better.  Of course you can play with Thor.  But kicking sand at someone is mean.  And you’re going in a time-out.”  That decision made, May sets Skye down in the grass near another bench.  She takes Thor and Romanov away, much to Skye’s dismay.  Shaking a finger at her tiny ward sternly, Agent May orders, “don’t move, and no talking.”

As May rises, she hears a sad little voice squeak, “for how many minutes??”

Melinda thinks quickly.  She knows that Skye should be punished, but she’s also quite annoyed at what the boy said to her.  “Three minutes,” she decides, moving to sit on the nearby bench.

Skye gives the grass next to her a frustrated little slap…

… Coulson takes this opportunity to escape the chatterbox of a mom.  “I’m really sorry about that,” he apologizes for Skye’s behavior.  “Excuse me.”

Phil gets up and goes to join May on the new bench, trying to avoid looking at Skye and giving her any attention.  The two adults discuss what just happened quietly, May watching out of the corner of her eye as Skye pulls up blades of grass and shreds them.

Skye’s time-out passes painfully slowly.  When the three minutes are finally up, May rises and walks over to where Skye is sitting.  When she comes near enough and informs Skye that her time is up, Skye immediately lifts her arms, looking as though she might cry if denied affection.

At this, May picks her up and holds her close.  She rubs the little girl’s back for several moments and allows Skye to rest her head on her shoulder.  Finally May whispers, “I want you to apologize to the little boy… Nathan… bǎo bèi.”

Skye looks up at May suddenly with watery eyes.  “But…”

Skye falls silent at the stern look her guardian gives her.  “Skye… are you thinking about arguing with me?” May asks quietly, patting the little girl’s bottom.

The little girl slowly shakes her head, and hides her face in May’s shoulder sadly.

“Good choice,” May praises in a whisper.

Skye apologizes when prompted, then gets to play for another 30 minutes in the park.  The youngster avoids the little boy and is all smiles again by the time they head back to base.  She even forgets to ask to watch ‘Frozen’ again that night.  Both Coulson and May wonder at the girl’s good nature and innocence… or perhaps short-term memory.  They also vow to seek out more opportunities for Skye to be around other children, and practice skills such as sharing…

 

**Continued in Chapter 4…**

**Author's Note:**

> Update 11/29/16: Due to feedback from a very kind native Mandarin speaker, I have changed the term of endearment that May uses for Skye. 'Qianjin' has become the more appropriate 'bǎo bèi'. Sorry for any confusion!
> 
> I appreciate all positive feedback on my works, and it encourages me to post more. Thank you for every 'Kudos' that you leave, and for telling me what you enjoy about my writing. Happy Reading!


End file.
